“Sharpen ¹  your arrows! Fill your quivers! ²  The Lord will arouse a spirit of hostility in ³  the kings of Media. ⁴  For he intends to destroy Babylonia. For that is how the Lord will get his revenge – how he will get his revenge for the Babylonians’ destruction of his temple. ⁵ 

“‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the city of bloodshed, the pot whose rot ¹  is in it, whose rot has not been removed ²  from it! Empty it piece by piece. No lot has fallen on it. ³ 

Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. He will carry off her wealth, capture her loot, and seize her plunder; it will be his army’s wages.

Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? When you drink clean water, must you muddy the rest of the water by trampling it with your feet?

Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.’

to loot and plunder, to attack ¹  the inhabited ruins and the people gathered from the nations, who are acquiring cattle and goods, who live at the center ²  of the earth.”

You will take some of its blood, and place it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the border all around; you will cleanse it and make atonement for it. ¹ 

Even some of the wise will stumble, resulting in their refinement, purification, and cleansing until the time of the end, for it is still for the appointed time.

I will attack them like a bear robbed of her cubs – I will rip open their chests. I will devour them there like a lion – like a wild animal would tear them apart.

“If thieves came to rob you ¹  during the night, ²  they would steal only as much as they wanted! ³  If grape pickers came to harvest your vineyards, ⁴  they would leave some behind for the poor! ⁵  But you will be totally destroyed! ⁶ 

There is no other God like you! ¹  You ²  forgive sin and pardon ³  the rebellion of those who remain among your people. ⁴  You do not remain angry forever, ⁵  but delight in showing loyal love.

Woe to the worthless shepherd who abandons the flock! May a sword fall on his arm and his right eye! May his arm wither completely away, and his right eye become completely blind!”

The blind see, the ¹  lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them.

How ¹  else can someone enter a strong man’s ²  house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can thoroughly plunder the house. ³ 

He told him, ¹  “See that you do not say anything to anyone, ²  but go, show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering that Moses commanded ³  for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ⁴ 

But no one is able to enter a strong man’s ¹  house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house. ² 

Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will ¹  also forgive you your sins.” ² 

Then ¹  he ordered the man ²  to tell no one, ³  but commanded him, ⁴  “Go ⁵  and show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering ⁶  for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, ⁷  as a testimony to them.” ⁸ 

He ¹  went up to him ²  and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil ³  and wine on them. Then ⁴  he put him on ⁵  his own animal, ⁶  brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so ¹  the last state of that person ²  is worse than the first.” ³